Metta World Peace Is Bored

The former Ron Artest's game is slipping. His numbers are down, and even his trademark defense isn't what it once was. Is it because he's 32 now? It is because he arrived for training camp out of shape after spending the offseason changing his name, doing stand-up, and texting his dong? Nope. World Peace had just gotten to be too good at what he does, according to what he told ESPN Los Angeles:

"The defense, I got to bring it back," World Peace said after practice Thursday, a day after putting up three points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block while playing a season-high 38 minutes. "I got bored with defense because it was so easy for me to stop people over the years. I got real bored with it. When you're playing against guys and you're stopping guys every single time, what else are you going to do [but get bored]? It caught up to me, but this year I'm doing better. This year I'm almost back to where I want to be."

Kobe Bryant said he knows the feeling, telling ESPN it can be tough sometimes to "find your edge." But maybe it's more than that. Maybe as a result of the name change, World Peace just ain't what he used to be.

Gasol put it thusly: "He's World Peace now. He can't be too aggressive or too violent out there. He's preaching peace."

World Peace declining? Nah, just "bored" [ESPN Los Angeles] [via Larry Brown Sports]